Research

This study in the urban region of Hyderabad, South India, aimed to determine the prevalence of refractive errors, particularly myopia, in children and young adults. A total of 4,065 participants between the ages of 6 and 22 were examined in this cross-sectional study conducted from 2013 to 2015. The results showed that myopia was the most prevalent refractive error, affecting 29.8% of the participants, with 2.9% having high myopia. In contrast, hyperopia was observed in 1.1% of participants, and 46.9% had emmetropia, while 8.6% had astigmatism. The study highlighted a strong correlation between age and the prevalence of myopia, indicating that myopia increased with age. Additionally, it was found that children from schools in the low socio-economic category (SEC) had a higher prevalence of myopia compared to those in the mid SEC. These findings provide valuable insights into the prevalence of myopia and other refractive errors in an urban population, emphasizing the importance of age and socio-economic factors in understanding the distribution of these conditions.